Yankees Need More Home Improvement

Mcdonald Settles Down For 10th Victory

NEW YORK — Big Ben McDonald was overpowering and a bit intimidating Tuesday night in leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-2 victory over the Yankees.

McDonald, a 6-foot-7 righthander, gave up eight hits, struck out nine and walked only one in eight innings to earn his 10th victory in 17 decisions.

In the third inning, McDonald threw what may have been his biggest pitch of the night when he hit Yankees catcher Matt Nokes on the helmet. Nokes, who had driven the previous pitch into the upper deck in right but more than 20 feet foul, left the field under his own power and went home before the game ended.

"It doesn't seem to be anything serious at this point," said Yankees manager Buck Showalter.

Asked if he thought the beaning was intentional, Showalter said it was "questionable. That's something only the pitcher knows."

McDonald (4.53 ERA) had a very shaky first three innings. He gave up hits to the first two batters in the first but got out of the inning. And the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs in the second but scored only one run. In the third, McDonald allowed a leadoff single and a run before he beaned Nokes.

Everything changed after that. McDonald struck out Charlie Hayes to get out of the third and then struck out the side in the fourth and sixth innings. He was untouchable until he was relieved in the ninth by righthander Gregg Olson, who got his 24th save in 29 opportunities.

"I just found the right groove. My mechanics got a little better and I was hitting spots," McDonald said.

McDonald said the beaning of Nokes was accidental.

"I just called over there to talk to him and the trainer said he had already gone home," McDonald said. "I asked the trainer to tell [Nokes] how I feel. It was an accident. I certainly wasn't trying to hit him. It was an 0-2 pitch. I just wanted to come in off the plate and it came in a lot further than I wanted it."

The Yankees had a big chance to knock McDonald out of the game in the second. After loading the bases on singles by Nokes and

Hayes and a walk to Kevin Maas, Pat Kelly hit a slow bouncer to third baseman Leo Gomez, who stepped on the bag for a force and threw home to get Nokes on a rare 5-2 double play. Dion James singled in Hayes, but that was all the Yankees would get. Their second run came in the third when Don Mattingly scored from third on an infield out.

Baltimore scored its first run in the third off righthander Scott Sanderson (8-8, 5.03) on a two-out double by Cal Ripken, only his second extra-base hit in the past 26 games. The Orioles scored twice in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Mike Devereaux and a single by Glenn Davis. Devereaux made it 4-2 in the seventh with his 14th homer and Davis singled in the final run in the ninth.

Sanderson pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and five walks. Rich Monteleone went the rest of the way.

"We had opportunities to score runs and didn't take advantage of them," Showalter said.

Showalter dismissed any intimidation factor after the beaning.

"[McDonald] has got good stuff," he said. "He doesn't need to hit somebody in the head to make people think he has good stuff."

The Yankees just didn't dig in quite as hard the later innings.

New contract for Showalter? The Yankees are expected to announce today that Showalter's contract has been extended through the 1995 season. The new three-year contract is believed to be worth close to $1 million. Showalter left pregame batting practice Tuesday to talk with Joe Molloy, the team's acting managing general partner. Showalter, who has a one-year deal, said his discussions with Molloy were on a variety of subjects, including a new contract. "It [contract talks] has progressed to date nicely," Showalter said. Asked if a decision would be reached soon, Showalter said: "Yes, we're making progress." ... X-rays taken Tuesday on the left foot of catcher Jim Leyritz and the back of outfielder Danny Tartabull revealed no damage. Both are day-to-day. ... Davis' fifth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 11 games, tying a career high. ... Left fielder Brady Anderson's stolen base in the fifth was his 34th (in 42 attempts), the most by an Oriole since Al Bumbry had 44 in 1980. It was also Anderson's 11th successful steal in a row